Perceived pitfalls become positives in Nannup, G.O.A.T. gets another win, and a specialist finally takes rainbow jersey – Five conclusions from the UCI Gravel World Championships 2026

A look into the brutal weather conditions which made the elite women’s race even harder (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix.)

This was always going to be a course like no other; the environment was completely different from the past four World Championships in Europe. Wide open roads, lots of gravel and lots of climbing. Plus, while the distances on the face of it may not have looked that long in gravel race terms, with 125.6km for the elite women and 144km for the elite men, the unrelenting terrain meant it wasn’t to be taken lightly.

Between the 3,179 vertical metres of elevation gain in the women’s race and 3,713m in the men’s race, then the pea gravel, the slippery mud and the constantly undulating nature of the terrain, this was a brutal day out. It was, Vos said to Cyclingnews before the event, a course where the “best riders will end up in front” and it will be a “fair and honest race”.

The latest race content, interviews, features, reviews and expert buying guides, direct to your inbox!

The challenging nature of the course was telling in the times, particularly for the women who on Saturday faced wet conditions that made the terrain even harder work. The women’s race was 6km shorter than last year’s event in the Netherlands, yet the winning riders were out on course half an hour longer, with a winning time of 4:30:04 for Vos compared to 3:58:16 for Lorena Wiebes in 2025.

The men’s elite race, which faced far drier conditions than the women’s race, was about 35km shorter in 2026 yet only took 30 minutes less.

Vos celebrates becoming the first back-to-back gravel world champion (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix)

The final podium of the elite men’s race, with Magnus Bak Klaris as the new rainbow jersey champion (Image credit: Zac Williams/SWpix)

Since the UCI Gravel World Championships began, it has been dominated by road professionals, with the one exception perhaps being the win by Pauline Ferrand-Prévot in 2022, as back then she was operating mostly as a mountain biker, although one with impeccable road credentials.

Nannup, however, had been expected to be the best opportunity to change that, with a course that was far more akin to what gravel riders tackle in the big races on the calendar than in previous years, which leaned a little more to Classics-style races which tended to suit the road professionals. Add to that the travel distance, with it always being in Europe till now, which gave the European-based road professionals a distinct advantage.

To be fair, the number of big-name road professionals who have jumped into the fray in pursuit of a rainbow jersey has done a considerable amount to raise the profile of the race. Though as the years of road professionals on the top step continued, the sense was that it would be nice to have an actual specialist in the discipline winning the jersey.

That way, instead of being hidden away for all but the very occasional outing, it would be seen out on course month in and month out throughout the discipline’s calendar. Plus, it would give the gravel fraternity a sense that there actually was a jersey of their own to aim for, rather than one in name only, where the odds were so far stacked against them that obtaining it felt almost impossible.

Peta Mullens (Australia) during the Women’s Elite race (Image credit: James Raison/SWpix)

Tiffany Cromwell (Australia) delights the home fans during the elite women’s race (Image credit: James Raison/SWpix.com)

There was no question that this was a small town the UCI Gravel World Championships was heading to, with a population of under 1,000, and while there were gravel roads on tap, there were some other necessities that did require some working out when it came to logistics, resources and accommodation.

The solutions ranged from turning an oval into a campground, a food truck park to supplement food options, and also roping in the much larger nearby Bussleton to act as a pre-event hub.

They were all so well tried and tested through years of the SEVEN UCI Gravel World Series race, and seemed to function seamlessly. What’s more, the small-town nature of the venue meant that instead of the World Championships being held in Nannup, it was Nannup.

The whole town was flooded with bike riders and spectators, the locals fully invested, and really it just seemed like one massive event village. What’s more, any available accommodation was packed with cyclists, which did plenty to foster gravel camaraderie.

In fact, the local caravan park camp kitchen, just two minutes from the start line, became a hub where riders from around the world swapped notes on the courses, training and generally were on deck to help out if anyone found they had forgotten some crucial piece of equipment. The small-town vibe was the perfect way to ensure that this wasn’t just a gravel race, but a coming together of a gravel community.